


A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes

by sd_madness



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Dream World AU, Other, younger au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-26
Updated: 2019-08-26
Packaged: 2020-09-25 06:53:37
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,246
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20372521
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sd_madness/pseuds/sd_madness
Summary: When Emma Swan goes to sleep each night, she wakes in a mysterious world. Surrounding her is nothing but darkness, or so she thought. The man she meets in her dreams may throw her entire life out of wack, or maybe it will put her life back on track.





	A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, readers! This is my first published work of this sort, so I apologize for the amateur writing. Please let me know if you have any feedback or suggestions! I hope you enjoy!

What Emma Swan considered to be a perfectly decent life was far from what many thought of as ideal.

Albeit, her life had been far from decent over the past twenty-two years, but maybe she was finally finding her own way. She had spent countless hours as a little girl dreaming of a good and normal life as she transitioned from one foster home to another, but the odds of her finally receiving her happy ending seemed minute.

Maybe now that she was her own person-- an adult living by her own standards-- she could finally have a life that wouldn’t be so miserable.

Emma entered the diner right as the clock struck 8:15 AM, just before she could be marked as late. She hurried to the break room to deposit her things and straighten her uniform.

“Right on time, Ms. Swan. I see you’re finally getting accustomed to clocking in when your shift is supposed to start,” Ms. Lucas, her boss and the owner of the diner, teased as Emma made her way to the kitchen. Emma smiled a sheepish grin as she picked up a few plates full of meals of all types, from pancakes to scrambled eggs and bacon. The aroma of coffee flushed through her nose as she traveled around the room delivering plates and gathering used ones.

As Emma stepped back into the kitchen, she ran into one of her best friends, Ruby Lucas. Ruby was Ms. Lucas’s granddaughter, a tall, gorgeous brunette with a tendency to throw around some well-humored sass.

“Hey, Emma! You look like you could use a nice cup of hot chocolate,” Ruby smiled knowingly, “With cinnamon, of course.”

Emma grinned as Ruby made her way over to the coffee station. It was nice, yet so foreign to have someone who truly knew and cared about her. Ruby was one of the first friends she made when she arrived in this small town in Maine. In fact, Ruby was one of the first real friends she ever had. She grimaced at the thought of Lilly, her childhood best friend, both in resentment and longing. She was snapped out of her thoughts as Ruby came back with her hot chocolate.

“So, Emma, are you excited for your date with Neal tonight?” Ruby teased as she nudged Emma’s shoulder. Emma sighed as she looked throughout the diner from the comfort of the kitchen window.

“Yeah, I guess I can say I’m looking forward to it,” Emma muttered nervously. She hadn’t really been on many dates in her lifetime, partially because she was never around long enough to hold a solid relationship. She also had a voice inside her constantly telling her that love was futile and unneeded to find her happiness. She spent her life associating love with pain.

Emma wasn’t the one to make the executive decision to start dating. Her other best friend, Mary Margaret Blanchard, refused to give up in convincing Emma that finding someone would be the last piece of the puzzle to her feeling fulfilled with her life. She never understood how Mary Margaret could remain so hopeful in the face of reality and the adversity it brings to the table. She admired it for all the same reasons.

Emma took another sip of her hot chocolate and sighed.

“Hey, Emma, it’ll be okay. I didn’t think that I would be better off with a significant other, yet I’m happier than I’ve ever been now that I’m with Dorothy. It just takes time to get used to, is all,” Ruby consoled, seeming to know exactly what was going through Emma’s head.

“What if I run away from him, too, just like with everything else in my life?” Emma whispered, her eyes wide with worry. Ruby rubbed her back as she looked out to the quiet diner.

“No matter what happens, Emma, I’m here for you. You are a strong, independent, and beautiful woman, and you always do what you think is best. Don’t be afraid of what’s to come. You’ll do just fine.”

“I hope so. I really don’t deserve you, Ruby.”

“Aww, Emma, that’s what friends are for. I’m so glad you decided to stay here, or else working at this diner would be a hell of a lot more boring,” Ruby grinned as she pulled Emma in for a side hug. Emma smiled and reciprocated the friendly affection.

Maybe everything will be okay.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“I’ll be there in a minute!” Emma called as she finished applying her mascara. She was running a little late on getting ready due to being caught up with her part-time bail bonds job. She couldn’t survive on only a paycheck from the diner since her rent was beginning to rise.

Emma opened her apartment door to find Neal standing in the hallway holding an assortment of wildflowers from where she assumed to be Game of Thorns down the street from the diner.

“Wow, you look beautiful,” Neal smiled as he gazed up and down her figure. He paused before looking down at his hand, “I got these for you.”

“Thank you,” Emma smiled warmly as she took the bouquet from his grasp and placed them on the kitchen counter.

Emma’s mind began to race as she realized she was going on an actual date with a man she had run into while on one of her morning jogs. Neal had insisted on giving her his number after he crashed right into her at the park. She didn’t refuse due to her desire for the awkward interaction to be over, and she told herself that she wouldn’t be obligated to call since she would probably never see him again.

Yet here she was.

It was Mary Margaret who had convinced her to just try it. Just one date to test the waters (although Emma knew if anything good happened on this date that Mary Margaret would insist she go on another). Emma rolled her eyes at the thought of the over-excited texts that she’d inevitably receive from Mary Margeret the next morning.

Emma made her way over to the door where Neal was currently positioned, holding it open. She exited her apartment with him and walked shoulder-to-shoulder with him until they had climbed into the car and headed off to dinner.

Maybe this date would go okay.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“You’re kidding!” Emma giggled into her hand as she and Neal stood in the elevator waiting to arrive at her floor. He had been telling her one of many stories from his earlier years.

“One of the only times I’m not,” Neal quipped. A comfortable silence spread among them as their laughter subsided. Neal put his arm around Emma’s shoulder as they walked leisurely to her apartment.

“Thank you for tonight, Neal. I had a good time,” Emma spoke softly, digging through her bag to find her keys. She looked up into his eyes, noticing a hint of desperation in his eyes. She looked away. She didn’t want this to go any further, not tonight. She was still getting used to this situation. Emma met his gaze once more after some quick deliberation.

“Maybe tonight doesn’t have to be over yet,” Neal smirked, closing in on Emma.

“I’m sorry, I’ve got work in the morning and I really can’t afford to be late.”

“Perhaps we can continue on a second date then?”

“Perhaps.”

Emma smiled before opening the door and stepping inside.

“See you later, then,” Neal muttered.

“Goodnight, Neal.”

Emma kicked off her black flats and plopped down on the couch with a thud. A deep exhale escaped her body as she stared at the ceiling. She had had a great night, and the fact that she was so comfortable with the situation at hand scared her. She had implied that a second date was in order. She swung her legs off the couch and stood up before eyeing the bushel of flowers she had placed gingerly on her countertop a few hours prior.

She set the vase of flowers on the coffee table, taking in the pop of color against her furniture. Her eyes began to feel heavy and she realized that it was getting late, reminding her of what she had just said to Neal a few minutes ago.

Emma yawned before trudging into her bedroom and changing into a tee shirt and flannel pants and brushing her teeth. She slowly crawled into bed and before she knew it, sleep overcame her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Hello?”

Emma had woken up-- or so it seemed-- in a mysterious haze. The darkness around her was infinite apart from the dull light that surrounded her. She whirled around in every direction looking for an answer to where the hell she was, but to no avail.

She looked down at her hands. They looked as real as ever, and they sure as hell felt real. All too real.

“I must be dreaming.”

Somehow reaching that conclusion was not comforting. Wasn’t there supposed to be something absurd running around? Why did she feel so awake?

A flash of light behind her caused her to whip around. A dim light in the distance had appeared, piercing the darkness.

“Is there anyone here? Where am I?” she tried again. She began to traverse gingerly in the direction of the light, searching for an answer to her burning questions.

Slowly but surely, Emma got closer and closer to the illuminated fog. Her eyes squinted as she tried to make out a silhouette manifesting in the haze. Her pace began to hasten as she continued onward, closer and closer to the other entity.

“Hello?” she called once more, studying the developing shadow of another person.

“Hello? Who are you? Where the bloody hell am I?” came another voice. It belonged to a man, a man who Emma pinpointed to be British, a man who she had never heard before.

“I don’t know what this place is,” Emma retorted, “I think I’m dreaming.”

“I thought that too, but I feel awake, like I’m in another world or something,” the man called back. He slowly came into focus as Emma was closing in.

“Well, that’s impossible,” Emma scoffed, rolling her eyes at such an abstract thought.

“Agreed, yet here we are,” he murmured, “This is way too much to be a dream.”

“It has to be. There is no logical way to explain this other than it being a simple dream. I don’t even know who you are or why I’m having this conversation.”

“I think you’re having this conversation because there’s a part of you that knows I’m right.”

Emma stopped in her tracks, the haze in the air beginning to dissipate.

“Oh yeah, then if you’re so real, what is your name, huh?” Emma barked in almost a laugh.

“My name is Killian Jones.”

“Killian, huh? That still doesn’t prove anything. This place isn’t real, you’re not real, nothing here is real,” Emma spat. She was beginning to feel agitated with the idea of her mind playing this cruel trick on her. She just wanted to wake up.

“What’s your name?” Killian inquired after a long pause.

“What?” Emma whispered, the question catching her off guard.

“I said, what’s your name?” he tried again.

“Why should I tell you?”

“Because if all of this is just a dream, then what does it matter?”

Emma sighed. This ‘Killian’ guy was not going to leave her alone if she didn’t comply.

“Fine… my name is Emma,” she paused, “Emma Swan.”

A gale of wind seemed to pick up out of nowhere, encircling her in a blast of air. It seemed as though Killian was being affected by the same gust of wind, as his silhouette appeared to struggle against the same force that was consuming Emma.

“What’s happening?” Emma called through the deafening winds.

“I’ve got no clue!” Killian hollered back, clearly fighting to hold his figure upright.

Emma felt as though her body was going to collapse as the wind got stronger and stronger, more and more forceful.

Then it stopped.

Emma dropped to her side, letting heavy breaths escape her body as she tried to recover from the windy assault. She lifted her head to peer over at Killian’s silhouette, except it wasn’t just a silhouette. She could see him clear as day.

Killian was a tall man with dark hair and tanned skin. He had an athletic build and he wore black jeans and boots, topped off with a black leather jacket. He appeared to Emma as a modern-day pirate of sorts. He was hunched over and breathing heavily.

Emma attempted to speak, but nothing came out. Her eyes began to grow blurry and her mind began to race. Was she waking up? She shook her head furiously as to try and see straight. She wanted to see what this ‘Killian’ guy looked like; she wanted to see the face of the man who she was trapped here with.

She cursed at herself for caring so much. After all, it was only a dream, and this being that had manifested in her mind was nothing more than an oddity in her thoughts. He had no value to her, so she shouldn’t have an ounce of concern.

Emma realized that she must be waking from this horrible dream. She felt comfort in that conclusion after convincing herself that he was not real and never will be.

She took a deep, shaking breath as she let herself fade out of consciousness.


End file.
